A radiant strand of Bluesilver Grass sprung up in front of him, golden scales lining it. The strand wrapped along the length of the sword, disturbing its stargod energy and restricting its movement. Most of the sword stabs were blocked by the troublesome grass while his dragon claw held the rest of the attacks at bay. With these defensive measures, he was barely able to endure Ye Xinglan’s offensive.

Naturally, it was all thanks to Goldlight that his Bluesilver Grass could subdue the explosive stargod energy. He activated Bind, specifically for the strands of Bluesilver grass encircling the sword, and charged forward with the aid of his spirit soul.

An orb of starlight fell onto his Bluesilver Grass, interrupting his soul skill. Ye Xinglan’s figure flickered. She bypassed his golden Bluesilver Grass and appeared just before him.

She thrusted out her Stargod Sword, ten stabs manifesting all at once.

“Let’s see how you deal with this!” Ye Xinglan roared. She had never expected that with her abilities, she would have so much difficulty against a mere one-ringed opponent. Though his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass, it wasn’t ordinary—a variant. What was most alarming was his golden dragon claw.

She felt the greatest threat from his claw and didn’t dare let go of her sword. She had a gut feeling that the match would be lost if he managed to grab her sword.

Although her Stargod Sword was powerful, once removed from her grasp, she would be helpless against his spirit soul-enhanced Bluesilver Grass. For now, she wanted to see how Tang Wulin would deal with her.

Indeed, Tang Wulin found it increasingly hard to block all her attacks. Even if he could sense all of the incoming sword thrusts, his reaction time was too slow!!

What do I do?

In this moment of crisis, he made a valiant choice.

Ignoring the incoming stars, Tang Wulin charged toward her, his golden dragon claw serving as the vanguard. He brandished his claw wildly to do two things: protect his body and grab Ye Xinglan.

Mutual destruction!

Tang Wulin was confident in the destructive power of his claw. He also knew that his body could endure the blow for a brief moment. In that moment before his body collapsed, he would attack her in a frenzy.

Shooting stars were lodged into Tang Wulin’s golden dragon claw, enveloping him in a bloody aura. The stargod energy was about to erupt, but he was already in front of her!

Shock flashed through her eyes. She jabbed her sword forward and activated both her soul rings. A mass of starlight descended, encasing her body like a stellar fortress.

Multi-colored light exploded as the golden claw and the shield of starlight clashed. Yet the starlight shield proved short-lived as Tang Wulin dug his claws into it, tearing the starlight into shreds.

The last couple of moves illustrated just what made Ye Xinglan a Shrek student. She bent over backwards, evading the claw by an inch while thrusting her sword simultaneously at Tang Wulin’s right armpit.

Tang Wulin recoiled his arm, deflecting the sword’s path.

Finally, Ye Xinglan’s defensive maneuvers came to an end; his claw gripped her sword with incredible strength, issuing out a metallic ‘clang’.

She nearly lost hold of her sword when a sudden wave of force propagated through it.

A boom resounded as light shot out from Tang Wulin. With a low groan, his golden dragon claw disappeared and the explosion hurled him back through the air.

“Stop!” The referee shouted. He flew over to Tang Wulin’s side. Holding Tang Wulin with one arm, the referee used the other to apply a healing white light on the wounds, preventing further blood loss.

Ye Xinglan sat on the ground, staring at Tang Wulin in despondency.

Throughout her life, she had never achieved such a difficult victory against a peer.

That guy, how is he able to fight so hard? And there’s his dragon claw… It’s so strong! How was it able to stop my soul skill? I should have been more prepared, then I wouldn’t be in such a situation.

Is he okay?

Tang Wulin was in a dire state. His body was dyed crimson, face pale and eyes closed. His consciousness had long since been lost.

During their final clash, Tang Wulin had held on by sheer will alone. When he could no longer endure the stargod energy, and his soul power collapsed within his body, he was incapacitated by the damage. He could no longer sustain his golden dragon claw either. Yet, if he had been able to persevere for another second, perhaps the outcome of the match would differ.

Wu Zhangkong ascended to the stage quickly. He retrieved Tang Wulin from the referee’s hold and applied an icy mist onto the wounds. Without sparing Ye Xinglan a single glance, he exited the stage with Tang Wulin in his arms.

Gu Yue and Xie Xie rushed over to their teacher. Upon seeing her bloodied comrade, Gu Yue emanated killing intent.

A chilling shiver ran down Ye Xinglan’s spine as she pushed herself off the ground. She turned toward Gu Yue subconsciously.

The two girls’ gazes clashed in midair, sparks shooting everywhere.

Wu Zhangkong’s hands moved in a blur as he examined Tang Wulin. A moment later, he declared, “He’s fine. They’re just superficial wounds. I’ll bring him back first.” He lifted Tang Wulin and after few mystical steps, he disappeared, his silhouette but a dream.

The second round of the individual competition concluded: Tang Wulin lost!

After Wu Zhangkong left, Gu Yue approached the stage, her eyes gleaming with six different glints and her bloodlust exploding. Even Xie Xie, who was undoubtedly on her side, treated her like a volcano about to erupt.

Once she descended from the stage, Ye Xinglan waited for the approaching Gu Yue, not one bit afraid.

“I want to challenge you.” Gu Yue’s voice was ice-cold.

Ye Xinglan snorted. “I’m only doing one match for the individual competition. If you want to challenge me, then do it in the team competition.”

She departed after spitting out these words. Gu Yue was about to chase after her, but Xie Xie restrained her arm. “Don’t be impulsive Gu Yue! She’s from Shrek.”

Gu Yue whipped her head back at Xie Xie, giving him a fright. “So what if she’s from Shrek?”

Xie Xie released her in haste. Embarrassed, he said, “What I’m trying to say is that it won’t mean anything unless we defeat them in a fair match. Actually, Wulin was an inch away from victory. So you should have an idea of how strong Shrek is now.”

“I’m forfeiting! I’m going to go see Wulin.” The instant she finished speaking, she broke into a run.

☀

Tang Wulin awoke to a cool sensation. When he opened his eyes, he saw the usual glacial expression of Wu Zhangkong.

“Teacher Wu,” he called out softly. He struggled to get up, but the tearing pain halted his efforts.

Wu Zhangkong glanced at him. “You’re awake? You still need to recover.”

Tang Wulin said, “But, my match…”

Wu Zhangkong said, “Don’t even think about it. Recover first. You’ve done well today. You had a chance of winning in that match, but what you’re lacking in now is combat ability. Once you’re better, I’ll teach you another secret art of the Tang Sect.”

Tang Wulin was at a loss. “But, aren’t I only allowed to learn two right now? I’ve only passed the medium level test so far.”

Wu Zhangkong said, “A third rank professional can learn an additional secret art. I didn’t teach you a third one last time because I was afraid you would be biting off more than you could chew. I’ll choose another art that is suitable for you. For now, you just rest and recover.”

“Wulin, you’re awake!” Gu Yue brought a cup of water over to him. She added a straw for his convenience. “Drink slowly; you don’t want to choke.”

A smile graced Tang Wulin’s lips when he saw the concern in her eyes. He drank a bit of water through the straw. “Thank you. What time is it right now?”

Gu Yue answered, “It’s just past noon. Are you hungry now? I’ll go get you something to eat.”